CHUCK CLOSE Lori Miller High Tech Learning, 11/22/09 “I am going for a level of perfection that is only mine…Most of the pleasure is in getting the last little piece perfect”

Timeline 1962 Earned BFA, University of Washington Earned MFA, Yale University 1964 Work first exhibited at the New York Museum of Modern Art First one man show featured his photorealistic black & white portraits 1980s Work began to loosen, become more abstract Suffered a spinal artery collapse & became paralyzed s Continued to paint with a brush strapped to his wrist NY Museum of Modern Art Retrospective 1998 Today Is a major figure in contemporary art, continues to produce & exhibit work Born in Monroe, Wisconsin 1940

Type of Art  Subject Matter Close is known for his large scale Photorealist portraits. Friends and family are often the subject of his work.  Media He uses a variety of painting and printmaking media, including acrylic, oil, watercolor, and silk screen.  Process He is known for using a grid technique to transfer an image from a photograph to a large canvas.

Photorealism  Chuck Close is most closely associated with Photorealism. This artistic movement is centered in the United States and began in the 1960s. Photorealist painters create images based on photographs, with great attention to detail. The results appear like a photograph. However, his later work has drifted more toward the abstract.

Other Photorealist Painters Telephone Booths, 1967 Queen, 1976 Richard EstesAudrey Flack

The Art of Chuck Close Big Self Portrait, Acrylic on canvas 107 1/2 x 83 1/2“

Leslie, 1973 Watercolor on paper 72 x 57 “ 4/02/exhibition-picturing-america- photorealism-in-the-1970s-at-deutsche- guggenheim-berlin/

Georgia, 1984 Handmade paper 56 x 45“ ges/chuck_close_b.htm

Lucas/Woodcut, 1993 Woodcut print 46 1/2 x 36” allery.html

Lyle, 2002 silk screen 65 1/2 x 53 7/8 in uck_Close/5.L.htm

Resources  Chuck Close: Process & Collaboration  Wikipedia  MOMA